The Word With a Thousand Meanings

Brand is one of those words that the advertising industry has run into the ground. It means so many different things to different people that as an industry we’re often talking to ourselves. As a branding agency, we define a brand as the emotion evoked by the audience but would never define a brand by how an audience perceives it. That can only come from the brand itself, and its reason for being.

What does that actually mean? A good example is Porsche. Porsche is about performance. That is the brand’s reason for being. Its Why. Performance is in its DNA. Does everyone buy a Porsche because of the car’s performance? Some do. But a large portion of buyers are purchasing prestige, or leasing status. That logo on the hood might as well be a scoreboard for some drivers, whether they are racing on a road track or to get to a soccer game on time. That’s why we won’t look to an audience to understand what a brand stands for.

We use our brand strategy process to define a brand, look at competitors to understand its positioning within the market, and research its audience to better understand how to create an emotional connection.

Once a brand is clearly defined, we work to build its following. We don’t just want people to be aware of the brand, although that’s a good start awareness never shows up in a P&L. We want to move people down the funnel to purchase and progress to a positive review, brand loyalty, and brand advocacy. If we find the right people to champion your brand, we don’t have to spend as much money finding more customers. They’ll do the marketing for us.